Speculation grows over whether Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is pregnant

The Elysee Palace on Sunday fuelled rife speculation in France that Carla
Bruni-Sarkozy, the first lady, has fallen pregnant with a long-expected
first child by the French leader.

Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife CarlaPhoto: REX

By Peter Allen

4:18PM BST 24 Apr 2011

Newspapers across the political spectrum on Sunday reported that the 43-year-old former model was expecting a first child with President Nicolas Sarkozy, 56, whom she married following a whirlwind romance in 2008.

Neither the Elysee Palace nor senior ministers denied the claims. A spokesman said the matter was part of the couple's private life and there would be no official statement.

The latest edition of French Closer magazine reported under the headline "Pregnant at last", that sources were "absolutely certain" about the information.

Closer claimed Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy is in the early weeks of pregnancy', meaning the child would be born just as the next presidential campaign hits its stride.

Mr Sarkozy hopes to be returned to the Elysee Palace for a second term next spring.

Related Articles

The magazine said ministers were informed of the pregnancy but warned not to leak the news because the condition is in early stages and 'fragile'.

Closer has run similar rumours before but newspapers, including Le Journal du Dimanche, Le Parisien, and Le Figaro, have also given the story credibility.

The right-wing Le Figaro is particularly close to Mr Sarkozy.

Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy has often spoken of her desire to have children with Mr Sarkozy, explaining: "I hope to, if I am young enough. It would be a dream."

Over the Christmas period Ms Bruni-Sarkozy visited a shrine in India and told a Muslim cleric that she was praying for another son.

She had her first child, Aurelien, in 2001 with her then lover, the Paris philosopher Raphael Enthoven.

Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy guards Aurelien's privacy ferociously, and the nine-year-old has not been pictured with her in public since the early days of her relationship with Mr Sarkozy.

Mr Sarkozy has two sons, Pierre, 26, and Jean, 25, from his first marriage to Marie-Dominique Culioli. He then had a son, Louis, with his second wife, Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz. Louis celebrated his 14th birthday on Saturday.

Mr Sakozy also had two step-daughters from his relationship with Mrs Ciganer-Albeniz.

In an online report, Le Figaro points to the fact that it is the third time in three years that the press has suggested that Ms Bruni-Sarkozy might be pregnant. It also suggests that the First Lady's mother, Marisa, rejected the Closer story as untrue.

An unnamed senior minister told Le Journal du Dimanche there was no comment to make on the subject.